Easy Questions

1 (a) Define the Doppler effect.

(3 marks)

(b) Name the two properties which are observed to have changed due to the Doppler effect.

(2 marks)

(c) An object is moving away from a stationary observer whilst emitting a steady sound
wave.

(i) Name the property of the sound wave which increases.

[1]

(ii) Name the property of the sound wave which decreases.

[1]

(iii) Name the property of the sound wave which remains constant.

[1]

(3 marks)

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(d) The following passage is about the Doppler effect and redshift.

Complete the following sentences by circling the correct words:

When a source starts to move away from / towards the observer, the wavelength of the
wave broadens.

For sound waves, sound therefore appears at a higher / lower frequency to the
observer.

For light waves, the light shifts towards the blue / red end of the electromagnetic
spectrum due to its lower / higher frequency.

When a source starts to move away from / towards the observer, the wavelength of the
wave shortens.

For sound waves, sound therefore appears at a higher / lower frequency to the
observer.

For light waves, the light shifts towards the blue / red end of the electromagnetic
spectrum due to its lower / higher frequency.

This is because blue / red light has a longer wavelength than blue / red light.

(7 marks)

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2 (a) (i) Name the theory that suggests that the Universe started with a massive explosion.

[1]

(ii) Names two observations that support this theory.

[2]

(3 marks)

(b) The table below contains statements about this theory.

Which of the following are correct?

Tick (✓) 3 boxes.

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 The universe began 14 million years ago
□

There was a giant explosion known as the Big Bang

□

This caused the universe to expand from a single point

□

It heated as it expanded to form the universe today

□

Each point in the universe expands away from the others

□

So, the further away galaxies are the slower they are moving
□

(3 marks)

(c) The table below shows statements of evidence for the theory.

Complete the table by placing ticks (✓) in the correct boxes to indicate whether the
statement is evidence from galactic redshift or CMB radiation.

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 Statement Evidence from Evidence from
Galactic CMB Radiation
Redshift

Astronomers discovered radiation in the

microwave region of the electromagnetic
spectrum coming from all directions

Radiation is in the microwave region because

the radiation initially from the big bang has
redshifted as the Universe has expanded

Observations of light spectrums from

supernovae indicate that distant galaxies are
receding

Galaxies that are further away are moving

faster, as their distance is proportional to their
speed

Light spectrums from distant galaxies show that

light is redshifted which is evidence of the
universe expanding

(5 marks)

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3 (a) Define redshift.

(2 marks)

(b) Light from a distant galaxy appears to have been redshifted.

Which of the following rows correctly describes the change in the frequency and
wavelength of the light when it is observed on Earth?

Frequency Wavelength

A Decreases Decreases

B Increases Decreases

C Decreases Increases

D Increases Increases

(1 mark)

(c) Figure 1 shows two people observing the same light source, which is in motion. The light

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 is moving to the right.

Figure 1

Complete the boxes on Figure 1 with words or phrases from the list below.

higher frequency lower frequency phase difference wavelength

blueshift relative motion star redshift

(4 marks)

(d) Which of the following are evidence for dark energy and dark matter?

Tick (✓) 2 boxes.

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The rotation and motion of galaxies suggests that there is much more matter
in the Universe than we are able to account for □

Stars have nuclear fusion occurring at their core suggesting that most of the
universe is comprised of hydrogen □

Viewing distant supernovae suggests that the Universe is starting to expand at

a faster rate □

(2 marks)

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4 (a) Light from distant galaxies appears red-shifted to observers on Earth.

Which of the following ideas does this provide evidence for?

1. The Big Bang Theory

2. The Universe is expanding

3. Distant Galaxies are moving both towards us and away from us

A. 1 only
B. 1 and 2
C. 2 only
D. 1, 2 and 3
(1 mark)

(b) This passage is about redshift.

Complete the following sentences by filling in the correct words in the gaps. Use words
from the box below:

stretch out slower expanding moving towards

receding faster black hole doppler

After the discovery of Doppler redshift, astronomers began to realise that almost all the
galaxies in the universe are ........................ .

This led to the idea that the universe must be ........................ .

This caused the light waves to ..................... ..................... as they travel through space,
shifting them towards the ........................ end of the spectrum.

The more shifted the light from a galaxy is, the ........................ the galaxy is moving away
from Earth.

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 (4 marks)

(c) The following passage is about the start of the universe.

Complete the passage using words in the box below.

explosion cold expand Big Bang heats

hot Big Crunch shrinks cools faster

Around 14 billion years ago, the Universe began from a very small region that was
extremely ............... and dense.

Then there was a giant explosion, which is known as the ............... ................

This caused the universe to ............... from a single point to form the universe today.

Each point expands away from the others and the universe ............... due to this.

This is seen as galaxies move away from each other, and the further away they are the
............... they move.

As a result of the initial ..............., the Universe continues to expand.

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 (6 marks)

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5 (a) Which of the following statements provides evidence that the universe is expanding?

A. light from galaxies is red shifted

B. nuclear fusion occurs in stars
C. many stars have orbiting planets
D. stars form from large clouds of dust and gas
(1 mark)

(b) An astronomer observes that light from a galaxy has been shifted towards the blue end
of the spectrum.

What can be deduced about the motion of the galaxy from this observation?

A. the galaxy is moving towards the Earth

B. the galaxy is moving away from the Earth
C. the galaxy is not moving relative to the Earth
D. the galaxy is expanding
(1 mark)

(c) Figure 1 shows some wavelengths that were observed using light from a source in a
laboratory:

Figure 1

The same wavelengths of light observed from a distant galaxy were found to be
redshifted.

Which of the following statements about the redshifted light is correct?

A. all the lines move towards the 'short λ' side by different amounts

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B. all the lines move towards the 'long λ' side by different amounts
C. all the lines move towards the 'short λ' side by the same amount
D. all the lines move towards the 'long λ' side by the same amount
(1 mark)

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Medium Questions
1 (a) What is the Universe?

(1 mark)

(b) Name the theory that states that the Universe started with a giant explosion.

(1 mark)

(c) What are the main ideas of this theory?

(2 marks)

(d) What is thought to be happening to the size of the Universe?

(1 mark)

(e) Explain briefly, one piece of scientific evidence which may be used to support this belief.

(2 marks)

2 Explain, in as much detail as you can, the main scientific evidence supporting the Big
Bang Theory of the Universe.

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 (5 marks)

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3 (a) Astronomers use special telescopes that can detect different types of electromagnetic
waves to observe the Universe.

Why is it important that we use the entire electromagnetic spectrum to study the
Universe?

(1 mark)

(b) Define the term red-shift?

(2 marks)

(c) In 2005 astronomers discovered a star with the biggest red-shift ever detected.

What conclusion can be made about this star?

(1 mark)

(d) The Big Bang theory is a theory about the origin of the Universe.

Explain how the light arriving from distant galaxies provides important evidence in
support of this theory.

(2 marks)

(e) In 1998 some astronomers produced some evidence that suggested that some of the
ideas scientists had about the Universe was incorrect.

Suggest what scientists should do when a theory does not appear to be supported by
new data.

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 (2 marks)

(f) Although scientists have studied how the Universe was created, they do not know why
the Universe was created.

Suggest a reason why this question cannot be answered by scientists.

(1 mark)

4 Binary stars are pairs of stars that both move around a common point.

Figure 1 below shows one star in a binary system at two positions in its orbit.

Figure 1

The spectrum of light coming from the stars contains some dark lines known as
absorption lines. The position of these lines in the spectrum is shown in Figure 2 for the
two positions above, along with the same lines in the Sun’s spectrum.

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 Figure 2

Explain how these spectra provided important information about the movement of this
star in the binary system.

(2 marks)

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5 (a) The light emitted from most galaxies is red-shifted relative to similar light observed on
Earth.

What does red-shift tell scientists about the direction most galaxies are moving?

(1 mark)

(b) The size of this red-shift is different for different galaxies.

What information about a galaxy can be found out by measuring the size of its red-shift?

(2 marks)

(c) What do the above observations suggest is happening to the Universe?

(1 mark)

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6 (a) The table in Figure 3 below shows the distance to several galaxies along with the speeds
at which they are moving away from us.

The final column shows the time for which the galaxies have been moving, which has
been calculated using the formula:

time = dis tance ÷ speed

Figure 3

Galaxy Distance Speed Time

(in (in megaparsecs per billion (in billions of

megaparsecs) years) years)

A 128 10 12.8

B 325 25 13.0

C 452 35

D 580 45 12.9

E 806 63 12.8

Complete the data for galaxy C.

(1 mark)

(b) Describe the relationship between the speed of a galaxy and the distance the galaxy is
from Earth.

(1 mark)

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(c) Explain how the data in the fourth column (time) provides evidence supporting the idea
that the Universe was created in a big bang.

(2 marks)

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Hard Questions
1 (a) Redshift can be used to determine whether a star is moving away from or towards the
Earth.

Explain what is meant by 'redshift' in this context.

(3 marks)

(b) In a laboratory, hydrogen is found to emit light of wavelength 656.61 nm. The spectrum
of a star observed on Earth is found to have the same line in the spectrum shifted to
656.68 nm.

The following equation can be used to calculate the redshift:

Δλ v
λ0
= c

Where:

∆ λ = change in observed wavelength

λ 0 = wavelength observed in the laboratory

v = speed of the galaxy

c = speed of light = 3.0 × 108 m/s

(i) Use the equation to calculate the speed of the star relative to the Earth.

speed of the star = ................................... m/s [4]

(ii) Explain whether the star is moving towards or away from the Earth.

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 [2]

(6 marks)

(c) A second spectral line is observed at 567.34 nm in the laboratory.

Determine the frequency of the spectral line from the star, as observed on Earth.

Frequency = ......................................... Hz

(4 marks)

(d) Explain the effect on the colour of light from the star if it were travelling towards the
Earth.

(2 marks)

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2 (a) Define redshift.

(2 marks)

(b) The shift in wavelength can be identified using spectral lines in an absorption spectrum.

The following absorption spectrum is generated using light from a source in a laboratory:

Sketch the spectrum obtained using light from a galaxy moving away from the Earth.

(2 marks)

(c) Redshift can be calculated using:

Δλ Δf v
λ
= f
=c

Where

λ = wavelength

f = frequency

v = velocity of the galaxy

c = speed of light = 3.0 × 108 m/s

An absorption line in the spectrum of light from a source in a lab in part (b) has a
frequency of 5.783 × 1014 Hz. The same line in the spectrum of light from a distant galaxy
has a frequency of 5.791 × 1014 Hz.

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Calculate the speed of the distant galaxy in relation to the Earth.

(5 marks)

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3 (a) The Big Bang theory suggests that the Universe is approximately 14 billion years old.

Describe the evolution of the Universe from the Big Bang until the present day.

(3 marks)

(b) Describe the evidence for dark energy and dark matter.

(3 marks)

(c) What does this tell us about the Universe?

(2 marks)

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4 (a) In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble noticed that the majority of galaxies in the
Universe are moving away from us.

The graph in Figure 1 shows some of the data that was collected by Hubble.

Describe the relationship between speed and distance shown by the best fit line in
Figure 1.

(2 marks)

(b) Hubble determined the speed of galaxies by measuring the red-shift of dark lines in the
light being emitted by the galaxies.

Explain how red-shift affects the wavelength and frequencies of these lines as observed
from the Earth.

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 (2 marks)

(c) The gradient of the best fit lines gives the value of an important quantity known as the
Hubble Constant.

Use the graph in Figure 1 to calculate a value for the Hubble constant.

Show clearly how you obtained your answer.

Hubble constant =................................ km/s per MPc

(4 marks)

(d) Astronomers have continued to take measurements of the speeds and distances of
galaxies, and have used these measurements to calculate more accurate values of the
Hubble Constant.

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The graph in Figure 2 below shows some more recent data.

Using Figures 1 and 2, explain why the value of the Hubble constant given by this more
recent data can be considered to be more accurate than Hubble’s original value.

(2 marks)

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5 (a) Figure 1 below shows the spectrum of light received on the Earth from the Sun and from
a star in a distant galaxy.

Figure 1

The spectrum contains some characteristic dark lines, which occur at very specific
wavelengths in the laboratory.

Explain how the shift in the position of the dark lines provides evidence to support the
Big Bang theory.

(3 marks)

(b) The data in Figure 1, along with data from other galaxies, can be used to plot a graph
showing how the shift in position changes with the distance of each galaxy from the

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 Earth, as shown in Figure 2.

A new galaxy is discovered with a red-shift of 0.02.

Using the graph in Figure 2, estimate the distance to this new galaxy.

Show clearly how you obtained your answer

(2 marks)

(c) Give an assumption you made in obtaining the answer to part (b).

(1 mark)

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